last byte

From the intersection of computational science and technological speculation,
with boundaries limited only by our ability to imagine what could be.

IMAGEFROMSHUTTERSTOCK.COMto save the Enterprise by repairing itsradioactive warp engine in the heart-rending death scene in the movie StarTrek II: The Wrath of Khan. 13The great project of artificial intelli-gence, begun in earnest in the 20th centu-ry, foundered in the world of the original“Star Trek” series. If artificial humanoidswere encountered, they were threats orfatally flawed. In one episode, Nomad,a robotic space probe, returned from itsmission with newfound destructive in-tent. 8 In another, the robot colony thatcaptured Harry Mudd, led by its chief,Norman, 5 decided to seduce all human-ity with offers of service and had to besubdued with illogical assertions andparadoxes. Afterward, the tamed robotswere left to themselves, as if for them toserve any useful role would have beena disturbance in the established orderof the Federation. Another episode fea-tured a humanoid robot woman calledRayna who was deceived by her makerinto believing she was human, 1 but Cap-tain Kirk ruined that project by attract-ing her to himself and forcing her toconfront her beloved creator. The stressand awakening emotional conflict de-stroyed her robot mind. In the universeof 23rd-century “Star Trek,” that par-ticular AI project seemed ill conceived.Maybe the scriptwriters feared the ro-bots would rebel and go into business forthemselves, as with the Nomad probe.In the 24th-century environment ofthe “Star Trek: The Next Generation”TV series, robots would be even morescarce than before, except for Enterprisecrew member Data, who seemed to bean isolated experiment. NASA todayexplores Marsbioengineered alien could offer com-panionship and amusing views in a fu-ture universe of starships some humanviewers found sterile.Early “Star Trek” scriptwriters didnot anticipate a network of comput-ers, even though, in 1946, science fic-tion writer Murray Leinster predicteda worldwide Internet-like network inhis story “A Logic Named Joe.” 6 Socialnetworks are not a feature of computeruse in the “Star Trek” universe. Thewriters stuck with isolated mainframeslike the ship’s computer, even thoughsuch monolithic machines went awry,as with the M5 multitronic unit, 3 orwere hacked by more computationallyadvanced aliens, invaded and pwned. Ashipboard network of special-purposeprocessors might be less vulnerable.Telepresence robots today let us ex-plore space and deep-ocean environ-ments, perform remote surgery, visitthe insides of malfunctioning nuclearpower plants, and disarm bombs. Sucha device might have spared the life ofMr. Spock when he sacrificed himselfTHE 50TH ANNIVERSARY in 2016 of the iconicfranchise saw multiple checklists ofthe speculative technologies that havebecome real due in part to the inspir-ing vision of “Star Trek,” and manyfans continue to cheer for even moretreknology. This is an amazing recordfor a low-budget 1960s TV show (ap-proximately $190,700 per episode)that first struggled for ratings but thenspawned three subsequent “Star Trek”TV series and 13 movies. 14 “Star Trek”has inspired technological innovationfrom smartphones to quantum phys-ics, and the enduring popularity of theoriginal show in syndication continuesto make it a launchpad for future ideasand advances “Star Trek” creators neverimagined. Here, I explore some of thetechnologies, from simple to far-out,that might yet find a place in the “StarTrek” universe if the forthcoming seriesgets the budget and ratings it deserves.Many technologies would haveimproved the “Star Trek” universe interms of realism and physical commonsense. Some, like seatbelts, are simpleand primitive, and would have keptnumerous crewmembers assigned tothe bridge from being shaken up whenthe starship Enterprise took a hit from,say, a Romulan plasma torpedo. 11 Asanother example, when furry, prolificTribbles experienced a population ex-plosion aboard the Enterprise, 4 theycould have become a nourishing re-source for a remote Federation colony,not sent to some horrific fate aboard aKlingon battle cruiser. What if, insteadof consuming Tribbles, Federation sci-entists had genetically enhanced themfor intellect? A talking Tribble or otherFuture Tense

Beyond ‘Star Trek’On a mission to boldly go where no man has gone before, the seriesand movies somehow missed some promising technologies …